This week on Acorn,
Aromatherapy relaxation.
Create relaxation anytime.
We will start with a brief discussion about how this technique helps to trigger an automatic relaxation response the next time you're anxious or stressed.
If you prefer to skip the discussion,
Move ahead to three minutes,
50 seconds.
You may have heard of Pavlov and his dogs,
But if you haven't,
Here's a quick review.
Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov was studying the digestion of dogs,
Specifically their salivation.
During this process,
He accidentally discovered a type of unconscious or automatic learning.
Pavlov discovered how random stimuli can come to trigger naturally occurring reflexes in an animal.
He discovered how to elicit these reflexive responses with rather insignificant stimuli.
Pavlov noticed his dogs would salivate at the sight of food,
Which is obvious and really unexpected.
This automatic salivation is of course the reflex,
To which I've been referring to.
But then Pavlov started to notice the salivation reflex occur before the food was present.
He realized the sound of the food cart was enough to trigger salivation.
He wondered if any casual stimuli could produce this automatic response.
This led him to ring the famous bell.
He would ring the bell before feeding time,
And after repeating this several times,
He discovered this too would trigger salivation.
Pavlov had discovered classical conditioning,
Or learning through association.
All of this helped us to understand the process of being triggered.
We can experience triggers that produce pleasant feelings,
And we can experience triggers that produce very difficult feelings.
Can you recall the last time that you were triggered?
Maybe you've come to associate a particular smell with someone dear to you.
At some time in your life,
This smell did not bring their memory to your mind.
But after repeated pairings of this person and the aroma,
You've come to associate the two.
Quick side note,
Smell can produce one of the strongest triggering effects because anatomically,
The olfactory center is so near the memory center in the brain.
These associations can also occur in a very short period of time when intense emotions accompany certain stimuli.
It is not always necessary for things to be associated after repeated pairings.
For example,
If someone gets married in the spring,
They may always associate feelings of joyfulness with spring because an intensely positive experience happened during this time of year.
Unfortunately,
It is true in the opposite direction as well,
Such as the case of PTSD in people who experience trauma triggers.
In today's meditation,
We are going to hack this triggering system for your benefit.
By pairing the naturally occurring sense of ease and relaxation that accompanies meditation with an aroma of your choosing,
It becomes possible to trigger an automatic relaxation response just by smelling this aroma the next time you're stressed.
So ideally,
Whatever scent you choose should be something you can keep with you to be used at any time.
This could be your favorite lotion,
Essential oil,
Or bundle of favorite herbs.
The goal of this practice is to train your body and mind to release all tension when you smell your chosen scent.
If you are not interested in conditioning this relaxation response in yourself,
Disregard the next set of instructions and simply enjoy today's meditation.
The most important aspect of this practice for triggering a relaxation response in yourself is repetition.
Repetition,
Repetition,
And some more repetition will do the trick.
Take a moment to select the scent you will use during today's meditation.
Once selected,
You may rub this aroma into your hands or other area where you will be able to periodically enjoy the smell during the meditation.
We are about to begin.
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
Begin by enjoying a few gentle inhales of your chosen scent.
Take a long breath in through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth.
Breathe in gently and long through the nose,
Taking in this perfume and back out through the mouth.
Breathe in feeling your stomach inflate like a balloon and breathe out watching it deflate.
On the next few breaths,
We will do brief holds.
So breathe in and hold for three,
Two,
One and breathe out.
Breathe in and hold for three,
Two,
One and let it go.
And one more breath in and hold for three,
Two,
One and let it all out.
If you haven't closed your eyes,
You may close them now.
Begin to visualize a white beam of light shining down upon you.
See this light begin to envelop your entire body.
You can view this light as originating from the goodness of the universe,
From God or from whatever source you're comfortable with.
As you continue to breathe evenly,
Notice again the aroma you have chosen.
You may gently bring your hands to your nose or just focus in on the smell.
Bring your attention back to the white beam of light continuing to shine down upon you.
Picture slow and steady pulses washing over you.
See these gentle pulses of light make first contact with your head and then ripple down around the rest of your body.
Feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed with each pulse of light.
As this warm light washes over your head,
Notice that it begins to loosen tension.
Feel the warmth release all the tension starting in your forehead.
Sense the relaxation move over your face,
Behind your ears,
Stretching down into the back of your neck,
Soothing any tight muscles.
This light begins to move into your shoulders,
Down the front of your chest,
Into your arms.
Feel the complete restoration the light brings to these areas.
Sense the light running down your back,
Soothing any aching muscles.
Feel it move down the rest of the front of your torso.
Now notice the light moving down your pelvis and buttocks.
Next going to your upper legs and then to your lower legs.
Feel this light continue to carry away all tension and stress.
Now experience the light move over the tips of your toes and down around to the bottom of your feet.
Now see this light extending down deep into the earth.
Watch the light filter through you,
Making contact with the top of your head,
Moving through the rest of your body and then out through your feet,
Carrying away all your tension deep into the earth.
Now,
Take a deep breath in and out through your body.
Observe how peaceful and renewed you feel as you continue to breathe smoothly.
Again,
Taking note of the aroma you have chosen.
Allow the scent to consume you as you mentally think,
Relax.
Notice how all the muscle tension in your body has dissipated as you continue to focus on the smell and mentally chant,
Relax.
Breathe in the scent and breathe out,
Relax.
Breathe in your scent and breathe out,
Relax.
Continue this for two more minutes.
If your mind has wandered,
Simply return to breathing in the scent and breathing back out,
Relax.
Breathe in the scent and breathe out,
Relax.
Breathe in the scent and breathe out,
Relax.
Now,
Bring your attention back to your stomach,
Noticing it inflate on the inhale and deflate on the exhale.
Watch it rise as you breathe in and fall as you breathe back out.
Give your fingers and toes a little wiggle and when you feel ready,
You may open your eyes and return to the room.
If your goal is to use this meditation to trigger a reflexive relaxation response,
Practice daily for at least two weeks.
The more frequent the aroma you have chosen is paired with this relaxation meditation.
The more power the scent will have to automatically bring on feelings of relaxation whenever and wherever you are.
Begin to carry your perfume with you and the next time you are stressed,
Just find a moment for yourself to take out your perfume and watch how it triggers a sense of calm and peace.
See you next time.
